Archive for the 'Carnival Cruise Lines' Category

For me, the beauty of a cruise is that I can have my cake and eat it too. There’s plenty of opportunity for family togetherness and much-needed time apart as well. If you’ve got little ones, it’s key of course to know the cruise lines’ age policies for kids programming. You don’t want to show up at the gangway only to realize yours are too young for the drop-off playroom (nightmare!). For those of you with older teens, it’s equally as important to know when your young adults can (and can’t) drink and gamble. Read on for the skinny.  Read more... (1243 words, estimated 4:58 mins reading time)

This week, we take a look back at some of old, but still relevant, stories. “Bigger, Better, New & Improved” originally was written for United Airlines’ award-winning magazine, Hemispheres – in 1998! Clearly, not much has changed.

Bigger, Better, New & Improved?

Listen to the cruise industry-an industry fixated on superlatives. Hear claims to possessing the world’s largest ship, the most expensive ship, the largest ship to transit the Panama Canal, “the highest-rated premium cruise line” (a claim made by Celebrity Cruises), “the only premium cruise line” (a counter claim made by Holland America Line), “the highest-rated major cruise line of more than two ships” (a claim unearthed only after excavating deep into a recent Conde Nast Traveler reader poll), the largest casino afloat, the largest verandas afloat, the largest suites afloat (still with us?), the largest suites with verandas afloat . . . well, you get the picture.  Read more... (825 words, estimated 3:18 mins reading time)

I’ve spent a lot of my professional career defending Carnival Cruise Lines. Allow me to explain.  Read more... (616 words, 1 image, estimated 2:28 mins reading time)

[This Avid Cruiser profile of Micky Arison was first published in 2005.]

Standing in the discotheque aboard Holland America Line’s new Zuiderdam, Micky Arison hardly seems like the cruise industry’s most powerful executive. Tanned, relaxed and smiling, his silk shirt unbuttoned three down and wife Madeleine on his arm, he could be mistaken for just another passenger enjoying a Caribbean cruise.

He chats with guests, responds politely to wait staff; he laughs easily. If he appears to be enjoying this cruise more than most, there’s good reason. He owns the ship—or at least his Carnival Corporation does—along with the many others in the company’s fleet.

By all measures, Carnival Corp. leads an industry that provides vacations for millions annually. The company has more ships, carries more passengers, generates more revenue and earns more profit than any other cruise line. Period.  Read more... (1375 words, 4 images, estimated 5:30 mins reading time)

The cruise era of assigned tables and seating times appears to have run its course and is fast being eclipsed by one of the industry’s most attractive recent innovations: alternative eateries.

Food. Glorious food. A fundamental appeal of a cruise holiday, shipboard food has been consistently abundant since ships first started carrying passengers for leisure travel. Even when the ships offered little more than dolled-up mess halls, to which everyone flocked for one of two scheduled feedings, the fare was usually quite respectable and always plentiful.  Read more... (2802 words, 7 images, estimated 11:12 mins reading time)

What do you want to do today? Where do you want to eat? On a big ship, these are legitimate questions that need to be answered because the choices are not limited to either/or.

The major cruise lines that have been unveiling and sailing larger and larger cruise ships for the past decade take pride in offering so many choices that, for instance, it takes a week to visit every restaurant or dining room for dinner.  Read more... (240 words, 1 image, estimated 58 secs reading time)

Awesome Overview
Families have voted with their wallets, and Carnival is the clear cruise-line winner for family vacations. Kids obviously love the Fun Ships, judging from the more than half a million who cruise with Carnival each year, and it’s easy to understand why. Carnival’s ships are equipped with enough toys, games, excursions and shipboard programs to keep the fussiest tots or the most cynical teens happy, and Carnival is a consistently excellent value for families.

All of Carnival’s ships are outfitted with comprehensive family friendly facilities, but for a family friendly embarkation, step aboard Carnival Glory, the largest “Fun Ship” ever to sail from Port Canaveral, conveniently situated within driving distance of the Orlando theme parks and well equipped for families.  Read more... (642 words, 2 images, estimated 2:34 mins reading time)